Amazon’s Jeff Bezos surpasses Bill Gates to become world’s richest person
The shares of his e-commerce company rose 1.3% ahead of the release of the company’s latest earning report.
Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos on Thursday became the world’s richest man with a fortune of over $90.9 billion (more than Rs 57,42,000 crore), Bloomberg reported. Bezos surpassed Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, who has held on to the position since May 2013.
Shares of Amazon on Thursday rose 1.3% to $1,065.92 in New York. Bezos is currently on the top of the Forbes’ world real-time billionaire list, and not the 2017 rankings. If the figures continue to surge until the markets close, Bezos will become the richest person in the world. The surge in stocks came ahead of the release of Amazon’s latest earning report.
Bezos holds 81 million shares in Amazon, besides his investments in The Washington Post and rocket company Blue Origin. Bezos became the seventh person to hold the title of the world’s richest person, according to Forbes since it was instituted in its current form.
Inditex Fashion Group chairman Amancio Ortega ($83.2 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffet ($74.3 billion) follow Gates on the list.
